HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Feb. 9, 2011 – Coker College President Robert Wyatt announced today that the college is establishing a campus in Marion County.

Beginning Monday, March 14 – the first day of classes of the fourth term of this academic year – adults can pursue Coker College’s fully accredited, baccalaureate degrees in business, social work and sociology/criminology in the Marion County Adult Education building at 410 East Liberty Street in downtown Marion.

“While Coker has provided educational opportunities at night for motivated adults in the Pee Dee since 1983, we are particularly pleased about our new Marion campus,” said Coker College President Robert Wyatt.

“During quickly changing and stressful economic times, it’s critically important that Marion County residents can access the kinds of high-caliber educational programs that underpin the region’s long-term economic development,” he said.

According to a 2010 report from the Lumina Foundation for Education, higher education is essential to any region’s economic success.

“Analyses of economic growth show that the vitality of economies – either local or national – depends less on ‘home runs’ (such as securing a new manufacturing plant) than on the skills and knowledge of the work force. Talent is the key, and higher education is the lever for developing it,” the report, “A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education,” said.

For Associate Dean Barbara Jackowski, who directs all of Coker College’s Adult Learners Programs for Higher Achievement, one of the primary benefits of Coker’s programs is the seriousness with which the College takes the responsibility of accommodating the needs of busy, working adults.

“After serving the region’s adults for nearly three decades, we’ve developed a deep appreciation not only for the skills and talents of adult learners, but also of their remarkable drive to achieve,” Jackowski said. “As a result, we are committed to offering programs that are flexible enough to accommodate the complexities that come with trying to earn a degree and support a family at the same time. It is simply core to what we do here.”

Coker College will host a grand opening celebration at the Marion campus on April 11, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. For more information about the new programs being offered in Marion, please contact Christina James at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
, (843) 857-4213, or visit www.coker.edu.

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.